{"id":8894,"date":"2024-10-25T12:03:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T11:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=8894"},"modified":"2024-10-25T12:03:43","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T11:03:43","slug":"morocco-regime-introduces-laws-to-subjugate-citizens-and-escalate-arbitrary-arrests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=8894","title":{"rendered":"Morocco: Regime Introduces Laws to Subjugate Citizens and Escalate Arbitrary Arrests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rabat<\/strong> \u2013 Moroccan trade unionists and legal experts have sounded the alarm over a series of new legislative proposals<\/strong> by the Moroccan regime (Makhzen)<\/strong>, which they argue institutionalize the subjugation of citizens<\/strong> and intensify arbitrary arrests<\/strong>. During a conference organized by the Moroccan Human Rights Space<\/strong>, experts called for broad resistance<\/strong> to counter the government\u2019s controversial strike law<\/strong> proposal, urging a thorough revision of these problematic legislative projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conference, titled “The Crisis of Legislation in Morocco and the Question of Human Rights,”<\/strong> focused on key legal proposals that have sparked wide controversy<\/strong> among civil society activists, academics, and practitioners. Among these contentious projects are the Civil Procedures Law<\/strong>, the Criminal Procedures Law<\/strong>, and the Strike Law<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strike Law: Curtailing Workers\u2019 Rights and Strengthening State Control<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During the conference, Younes Firachin<\/strong>, Secretary General of the National Education Union, criticized the proposed Strike Law<\/strong>, saying it grants the state the power to force citizens to work to maintain minimum services<\/strong>, undermining labor rights. Firachin highlighted the increasing dominance of neoliberal policies<\/strong> within Moroccan legislation, marked by the privatization of public sectors<\/strong>, erosion of social protections<\/strong>, and restrictions on rights and freedoms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further criticized the government for excluding trade unions<\/strong> from discussions on the Strike Law, bypassing participatory dialogue<\/strong>. “This proposed law contradicts international agreements, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights<\/strong>, ratified by Morocco in 1979, as well as the International Labour Organization\u2019s standards<\/strong>,” Firachin noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union leader also stressed that the provisions of the law violate Morocco’s constitution<\/strong>, which guarantees the right to strike without limiting it to specific groups. He called for the creation of a broad coalition<\/strong> to oppose this law<\/strong>, which threatens to restrict all sectors of civil society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil Procedures Law: Excluding Citizens and Undermining Justice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hassan Sni<\/strong>, a lawyer at the Casablanca Court, focused on the proposed Civil Procedures Law<\/strong>, highlighting the lack of participatory dialogue<\/strong> in its drafting, in violation of the 2011 Moroccan Constitution<\/strong>, which mandates consultative processes in law-making<\/strong>. Sni expressed concern that the law was developed without assessing its social impact on citizens<\/strong> or its consequences for fundamental rights and freedoms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also warned that the new law restricts access to justice<\/strong> by limiting certain groups from appealing decisions to higher courts, thereby violating the principle of equality<\/strong>. Additionally, Sni criticized provisions that prevent citizens from enforcing judgments against the state<\/strong> and prohibit the seizure of public assets<\/strong>, creating legal inequality<\/strong> in favor of the government at the expense of ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminal Procedures Law: Legitimizing Arbitrary Arrests<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lawyer Hassan Harrouch<\/strong> addressed the proposed Criminal Procedures Law<\/strong>, criticizing its first article<\/strong> for presenting “misleading slogans” about fair trials<\/strong> and reasonable timeframes<\/strong> for justice. However, he argued, the law is undermined by a security-focused approach<\/strong> that infringes on civil liberties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrouch pointed to several flaws in the proposal, particularly the imbalance between prosecutorial power and defense rights<\/strong>. He denounced the legalization of arbitrary detention<\/strong>, referring to Article 66<\/strong> of the law, which states that the time required to transfer detainees between cities or for medical treatment<\/strong> will not count toward the legal detention period. This provision, Harrouch argued, opens the door to abuses<\/strong> and extends detention arbitrarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion: A Call for Resistance and Reform<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The participants in the conference emphasized the need for a united front<\/strong> to confront the authoritarian measures<\/strong> embedded in these legislative proposals. They warned that these laws threaten the rights of citizens<\/strong>, undermine the principle of equality before the law<\/strong>, and further entrench state control over public and private life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experts called on civil society organizations, trade unions, and activists to mobilize<\/strong> against these legal projects, urging the government to rethink its approach<\/strong> and respect the principles of dialogue, accountability, and human rights<\/strong> enshrined in both the national constitution and international agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further updates on developments in Morocco and international human rights advocacy, visit DZWATCH.DZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Author<\/strong>: nor-eleslam
Moroccan regime\u2019s new laws spark backlash over human rights violations<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabat \u2013 Moroccan trade unionists and legal experts have sounded the alarm over a series of new legislative proposals by the Moroccan regime (Makhzen), which they argue institutionalize the subjugation of citizens and intensify arbitrary arrests. During a conference organized by the Moroccan Human Rights Space, experts called for broad resistance to counter the government\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8896,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8894\/revisions\/8896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}